First step to resumption

PLANNING documents for central Maroochydore will be lodged with the State Government today, triggering a process that will see the resumption of parts of Horton Park Golf Club for road works.

The club’s board met last night to debrief from last Thursday’s decision of members not to accept a $39 million offer from Sunshine Coast council for the land and to relocate to Twin Waters.

Club president Geoff Davies said his primary concern was to keep the club together and playing golf on its own course.

He still strongly supports the relocation plan.

The club’s solicitor has been asked to provide the board with advice as to how soon under the club rules it can resubmit the proposition to members.

Mayor Bob Abbot confirmed that the council would issue a notice of intent to resume the needed land as soon as the structure planning documents were lodged.

He met Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe on Monday to outline the process the council would take.

Cr Abbot said the council was anxious to start work as soon as possible on finishing a 15-metre “missing link” section of Dalton Drive to allow construction of commercial properties that had businesses ready to occupy and offer employment.

The resumptions will make the 18-hole Horton Park course in the middle of the CBD unplayable.

However, Cr Abbot said the offer to purchase would remain on the table and the council remained ready to help the club find a future.

Mr Davies said he believed the motion to sell had been lost because members thought they were being hard done by.

He said they had found it hard to imagine that the 53-hectare CBD course was only worth $39 million.

But he said a valuation obtained by the club had put its worth at only $16 million, while acknowledging that a valuation had not been sought for the Twin Waters course.

“I am still heavily for the motion because it was the way to keep membership together,” Mr Davies said.

“That’s exactly what we would have got and still had the investment account. I’m extremely disappointed at the outcome. Of course I looked forward to building 36 holes (at Forest Glen).

“Those matters were taken from our hands.

“At the end of the day (the deal) provided an opportunity for members to play golf.

“Whether or not we were paying twice what Twin Waters was worth was irrelevant.

“We didn’t have the time frame to build additional holes. We were backed into a corner and it was a chance to relocate at no expense.”

Mr Davies said a shift to Twin Waters would have resulted in some loss of members and he felt that there would also have been a reduction in the number of members of that club if the deal had gone through.

The club’s board will meet with council later this week for further discussions.